Living with Computers

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Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030343626
Total Pages : 126 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis Living with Computers by : James W. Cortada

Download or read book Living with Computers written by James W. Cortada and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-03-11 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The computing technology on which we are now so dependent has risen to its position of ascendency so rapidly that few of us have had the opportunity to take a step back and wonder where we are headed. This book urges us to do so. Taking a big-picture perspective on digital technology, Living with Computers leads the reader on a whistle-stop tour of the history of information and information technology. This journey culminates in a deep exploration into the meaning and role of computers in our lives, and what this experience might possibly mean for the future of human society – and the very existence of humanity itself. In the face of the transformative power of computing, this book provokes us to ask big questions. If computers become integrated into our bodies, merging with the information processing of our very DNA, will computing help to shape the evolution of biological life? If artificial intelligence advances beyond the abilities of the human brain, will this overturn our anthropocentrism and lead to a new view of reality? Will we control the computers of the future, or will they control us? These questions can be discomforting, yet they cannot be ignored. This book argues that it is time to reshape our definition of our species in the context of our interaction with computing. For although such science-fiction scenarios are not likely to happen any time soon – and may, in fact, never happen – it is nevertheless vital to consider these issues now if we wish to have any influence over whatever is to come. So, humans, let’s confront our possible destiny! James W. Cortada is a Senior Research Fellow at the Charles Babbage Institute at the University of Minnesota. He holds a Ph.D. in modern history and worked at IBM in various positions for 38 years, including in IBM’s management research institute, The IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV). He is the author of over a dozen books on management, and nearly two dozen books on the history of information technology. These include the Springer title From Urban Legends to Political Fact-Checking: Online Scrutiny in America, 1990-2015 (with William Aspray).

Wetware

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Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300155441
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis Wetware by : Dennis Bray

Download or read book Wetware written by Dennis Bray and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2009-05-26 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A beautifully written journey into the mechanics of the world of the cell, and even beyond, exploring the analogy with computers in a surprising way” (Denis Noble, author of Dance to the Tune of Life). How does a single-cell creature, such as an amoeba, lead such a sophisticated life? How does it hunt living prey, respond to lights, sounds, and smells, and display complex sequences of movements without the benefit of a nervous system? This book offers a startling and original answer. In clear, jargon-free language, Dennis Bray taps the findings from the discipline of systems biology to show that the internal chemistry of living cells is a form of computation. Cells are built out of molecular circuits that perform logical operations, as electronic devices do, but with unique properties. Bray argues that the computational juice of cells provides the basis for all distinctive properties of living systems: it allows organisms to embody in their internal structure an image of the world, and this accounts for their adaptability, responsiveness, and intelligence. In Wetware, Bray offers imaginative, wide-ranging, and perceptive critiques of robotics and complexity theory, as well as many entertaining and telling anecdotes. For the general reader, the practicing scientist, and all others with an interest in the nature of life, this book is an exciting portal to some of biology’s latest discoveries and ideas. “Drawing on the similarities between Pac-Man and an amoeba and efforts to model the human brain, this absorbing read shows that biologists and engineers have a lot to learn from working together.” —Discover magazine “Wetware will get the reader thinking.” —Science magazine

The Trouble with Computers

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Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 9780262621083
Total Pages : 444 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (21 download)

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Book Synopsis The Trouble with Computers by : Thomas K. Landauer

Download or read book The Trouble with Computers written by Thomas K. Landauer and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1995 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning with an explanation of why considerable outlays for computing since 1973 have not resulted in comparable payoffs, the author proposes that emerging techniques for user-centred development can turn the situation around - through task analysis, ite

Algorithms to Live By

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Author :
Publisher : Macmillan
ISBN 13 : 1627790365
Total Pages : 366 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (277 download)

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Book Synopsis Algorithms to Live By by : Brian Christian

Download or read book Algorithms to Live By written by Brian Christian and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Algorithms to Live By' looks at the simple, precise algorithms that computers use to solve the complex 'human' problems that we face, and discovers what they can tell us about the nature and origin of the mind.

Tricky Living

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780939151011
Total Pages : 127 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (51 download)

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Book Synopsis Tricky Living by : Russ Walter

Download or read book Tricky Living written by Russ Walter and published by . This book was released on 2004-07-01 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covers everything important about life. 10 sections: health (blood chemistry, nutrition, etc.) , daily survival (housing, transportation, finances, careers, crooks, etc.), law (lawyers, judges, politics, war), intellectual life (professors, philosophers, psychologists, mathematicians, scientists), arts (Picasso's advice, music, movies, writing), American cultures (holidays, aging, regions), foreign cultures (French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese), morality (ethics, prejudice, evil, Christian humor, Judaism), sexuality (male-female relationships, prostitution), and Donna's comments (about Chinese & American cultures). Fun, tricks, philosophies, and methods, written by Russ & Donna and culled from thousands of other sources.

Electronic Life

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Author :
Publisher : Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 234 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Electronic Life by : Michael Crichton

Download or read book Electronic Life written by Michael Crichton and published by Alfred A. Knopf. This book was released on 1983 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Life on the Screen

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Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1439127115
Total Pages : 358 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Life on the Screen by : Sherry Turkle

Download or read book Life on the Screen written by Sherry Turkle and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-04-26 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Life on the Screen is a book not about computers, but about people and how computers are causing us to reevaluate our identities in the age of the Internet. We are using life on the screen to engage in new ways of thinking about evolution, relationships, politics, sex, and the self. Life on the Screen traces a set of boundary negotiations, telling the story of the changing impact of the computer on our psychological lives and our evolving ideas about minds, bodies, and machines. What is emerging, Turkle says, is a new sense of identity—as decentered and multiple. She describes trends in computer design, in artificial intelligence, and in people’s experiences of virtual environments that confirm a dramatic shift in our notions of self, other, machine, and world. The computer emerges as an object that brings postmodernism down to earth.

Living with Computers

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780155511330
Total Pages : 664 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (113 download)

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Book Synopsis Living with Computers by : Patrick G. McKeown

Download or read book Living with Computers written by Patrick G. McKeown and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 664 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Living with Computers

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780155511538
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (115 download)

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Book Synopsis Living with Computers by : McKeown

Download or read book Living with Computers written by McKeown and published by . This book was released on 1988-01-01 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

At Home with Computers

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1000184145
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis At Home with Computers by : Elaine Lally

Download or read book At Home with Computers written by Elaine Lally and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-18 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New technologies are profoundly reshaping the world around us. Home computers - unheard of two decades ago - now play an intimate role as personal possessions in many people's lives. For some, computer games may be vital to winding-down after a busy day, while for others the home computer represents only work or is a means through which to socialize in cyberspace. Powerfully symbolic of both future and present trends, computers are increasingly seen as essential home purchases. This book is the first sustained examination of the revealing role computers play in our domestic lives. Do computers cause or help to resolve arguments? What role does gender play in negotiating their use? Who spends the most time with the computer? How does the importance of home computers change as we move from childhood through careers to retirement? Drawing upon topical theories from material culture, technology and consumption studies, Lally traces the social life of these machines and provides unique insights into the many different ways in which they are transformed into highly personal possessions. The result is an absorbing account of everyday life in the information age. This book will be of interest to anthropologists, geographers, sociologists and anyone who wants to get to know how their home computer affects their family life.

Making Computers Accessible

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Author :
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 1421416476
Total Pages : 207 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (214 download)

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Book Synopsis Making Computers Accessible by : Elizabeth R. Petrick

Download or read book Making Computers Accessible written by Elizabeth R. Petrick and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2015-06-01 with total page 207 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The revolution in accessible computer technology was fueled by disability activism, the interactive nature of personal computers, and changing public policy. In 1974, not long after developing the first universal optical character recognition technology, Raymond Kurzweil struck up a conversation with a blind man on a flight. Kurzweil explained that he was searching for a use for his new software. The blind man expressed interest: One of the frustrating obstacles that blind people grappled with, he said, was that no computer program could translate text into speech. Inspired by this chance meeting, Kurzweil decided that he must put his new innovation to work to “overcome this principal handicap of blindness.” By 1976, he had built a working prototype, which he dubbed the Kurzweil Reading Machine. This type of innovation demonstrated the possibilities of computers to dramatically improve the lives of people living with disabilities. In Making Computers Accessible, Elizabeth R. Petrick tells the compelling story of how computer engineers and corporations gradually became aware of the need to make computers accessible for all people. Motivated by user feedback and prompted by legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, which offered the promise of equal rights via technological accommodation, companies developed sophisticated computerized devices and software to bridge the accessibility gap. People with disabilities, Petrick argues, are paradigmatic computer users, demonstrating the personal computer’s potential to augment human abilities and provide for new forms of social, professional, and political participation. Bridging the history of technology, science and technology studies, and disability studies, this book traces the psychological, cultural, and economic evolution of a consumer culture aimed at individuals with disabilities, who increasingly rely on personal computers to make their lives richer and more interconnected.

Computers as Theatre

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Author :
Publisher : Pearson Education
ISBN 13 : 0321918622
Total Pages : 272 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (219 download)

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Book Synopsis Computers as Theatre by : Brenda Laurel

Download or read book Computers as Theatre written by Brenda Laurel and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2014 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brenda Laurel's Computers as Theatre revolutionized the field of human-computer interaction, offering ideas that inspired generations of interface and interaction designers-and continue to inspire them. Laurel's insight was that effective interface design, like effective drama, must engage the user directly in an experience involving both thought and emotion. Her practical conclusion was that a user's enjoyment must be a paramount design consideration, and this demands a deep awareness of dramatic theory and technique, both ancient and modern. Now, two decades later, Laurel has revised and revamped her influential work, reflecting back on enormous change and personal experience and forward toward emerging technologies and ideas that will transform human-computer interaction yet again. Beginning with a clear analysis of classical drama theory, Laurel explores new territory through the lens of dramatic structure and purpose. Computers as Theatre, Second Edition, is directed to a far wider audience, is written more simply and elegantly, is packed with new examples, and is replete with exciting and important new ideas. This book Draws lessons from massively multiplayer online games and systems, social networks, and mobile devices with embedded sensors Integrates values-driven design as a key principle Integrates key ideas about virtual reality Covers new frontiers, including augmented reality, distributed and participatory sensing, interactive public installations and venues, and design for emergence Once more, Brenda Laurel will help you see the connection between humans and computers as you never have before-and help you build interfaces and interactions that are pleasurably, joyously right!

Artificial Unintelligence

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Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 026253701X
Total Pages : 247 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (625 download)

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Book Synopsis Artificial Unintelligence by : Meredith Broussard

Download or read book Artificial Unintelligence written by Meredith Broussard and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2019-01-29 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide to understanding the inner workings and outer limits of technology and why we should never assume that computers always get it right. In Artificial Unintelligence, Meredith Broussard argues that our collective enthusiasm for applying computer technology to every aspect of life has resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed systems. We are so eager to do everything digitally—hiring, driving, paying bills, even choosing romantic partners—that we have stopped demanding that our technology actually work. Broussard, a software developer and journalist, reminds us that there are fundamental limits to what we can (and should) do with technology. With this book, she offers a guide to understanding the inner workings and outer limits of technology—and issues a warning that we should never assume that computers always get things right. Making a case against technochauvinism—the belief that technology is always the solution—Broussard argues that it's just not true that social problems would inevitably retreat before a digitally enabled Utopia. To prove her point, she undertakes a series of adventures in computer programming. She goes for an alarming ride in a driverless car, concluding “the cyborg future is not coming any time soon”; uses artificial intelligence to investigate why students can't pass standardized tests; deploys machine learning to predict which passengers survived the Titanic disaster; and attempts to repair the U.S. campaign finance system by building AI software. If we understand the limits of what we can do with technology, Broussard tells us, we can make better choices about what we should do with it to make the world better for everyone.

A History of Modern Computing, second edition

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Author :
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 9780262532037
Total Pages : 468 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (32 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Modern Computing, second edition by : Paul E. Ceruzzi

Download or read book A History of Modern Computing, second edition written by Paul E. Ceruzzi and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003-04-08 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the first digital computer to the dot-com crash—a story of individuals, institutions, and the forces that led to a series of dramatic transformations. This engaging history covers modern computing from the development of the first electronic digital computer through the dot-com crash. The author concentrates on five key moments of transition: the transformation of the computer in the late 1940s from a specialized scientific instrument to a commercial product; the emergence of small systems in the late 1960s; the beginning of personal computing in the 1970s; the spread of networking after 1985; and, in a chapter written for this edition, the period 1995-2001. The new material focuses on the Microsoft antitrust suit, the rise and fall of the dot-coms, and the advent of open source software, particularly Linux. Within the chronological narrative, the book traces several overlapping threads: the evolution of the computer's internal design; the effect of economic trends and the Cold War; the long-term role of IBM as a player and as a target for upstart entrepreneurs; the growth of software from a hidden element to a major character in the story of computing; and the recurring issue of the place of information and computing in a democratic society. The focus is on the United States (though Europe and Japan enter the story at crucial points), on computing per se rather than on applications such as artificial intelligence, and on systems that were sold commercially and installed in quantities.

Living with Computers

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Author :
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 950 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (321 download)

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Book Synopsis Living with Computers by : Patrick G. McKeown

Download or read book Living with Computers written by Patrick G. McKeown and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P. This book was released on 1991 with total page 950 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Discovering Computers

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780789512970
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (129 download)

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Book Synopsis Discovering Computers by : Gary B. Shelly

Download or read book Discovering Computers written by Gary B. Shelly and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Artificial Life

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780140231052
Total Pages : 390 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (31 download)

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Book Synopsis Artificial Life by : Steven Levy

Download or read book Artificial Life written by Steven Levy and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book looks at artificial life science - A-Life, an important new area of scientific research involving the disciplines of microbiology, evolutionary theory, physics, chemistry and computer science. In the 1940s a mathematician named John von Neumann, a man with a claim to being the father of the modern computer, invented a hypothetical mathematical entity called a cellular automaton. His aim was to construct a machine that could reproduce itself. In the years since, with the development of hugely more sophisticated and complex computers, von Neumann's insights have gradually led to a point where scientists have created, within the wiring of these machines, something that so closely simulates life that it may, arguably, be called life. This machine reproduces itself, mutates, evolves through generations and dies.